Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Virtual World Tour

The Fabulous Portland, Oregon USA! (and some other cool stuff within driving distance), for Patience's project. Go check it out!

We live in the outskirts of Portland. It's not all that impressive right where we live. Just your average apartment complex:




With your average drive home from wherever you've been:




But we do have the Downtown area. I love the Portland skyline at night (note: I did not take this picture!):


But we also have the beach nearby (a 1 1/2-2 hour drive to one of the closest ones, Cannon Beach), which we've already been to with Dorothy a few times:



As well as many, many gorgeous hiking trails within a 1-2 hour drive, such as trails on the Columbia Gorge, with a plethora of waterfalls:



As well as hiking in the mountains (and skiing if you're not a total clutz like Moi):




Oh! And if you want to go on some breathtaking backpacking trips, simply drive 3-4 hours to Central Oregon. Hiking around the 3 Sisters is the most incredible experience ever!:







There are so many more things that I don't have digital pictures of, such as the zoo. I must say, Oregon is one of the most beautiful and diverse states in the contiguous US. Don't you agree?

Monday, July 09, 2007

Hot mama

We're getting real hot over here on the West coast! It's supposed to get over 100 on Tuesday, which doesn't happen often here. I haven't been on much due to my homework. I have a quiz almost every math class. There are also 3 tests and 1 final. Plus homework on the days that we don't have tests. And it's all crammed in to 6 weeks!

So how many of you know much about financial aid when it comes to school? They offered me $2860 for the year (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring). That should pay for tuition and most of books. The area I'm sweating about is child care. It's going to cost well over the amount that my classes are going to; around $4700 a year. I got approved for a $3000 student loan, but that still leaves us paying out $140 a month, which is still quite a bit over our budget. I don't know how they calculate how much they'll give you to help with day care, but it seems to me that they should look at the actual cost, not just pull some number out of the sky. I was too late for scholarship applications, so I'm getting on top of that ASAP next year. Debt is a part of going to school, but I'd rather have less debt and more freedom when I get out. I'm really new to all of this, so maybe there's something that I should be doing that I'm not.

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Happy 4th

Hope everyone has a happy 4th of July! We're going to go to a picnic and then to my parents' house. I'm not sure yet whether we'll go to see some fireworks or not. The past week has been awful in our family. My brother's wife has left the state and is living with an ex. I just can't believe that this whole thing is happening. Their girls are 4 1/2 and almost 3. Just so sad.